Cullen was under the command of the Ogilvies, earls of Findlater, throughout the period. Kintore was commanded in the early part of the period by the 3rd Earl of Kintore, whose finances were so disordered that he depended on Government: on the death of his brother, the 4th Earl, in 1761 the estates passed to the absent Earl Marischal, and were administered on his behalf by George Burnet of Kenmay. Burnet also controlled the burgh of Inverurie, which he had seized from Lord Kintore.
In 1754 this constituency was controlled by James Oswald of Dunnikier and his close friend James St. Clair of Sinclair. The Oswalds, a prominent merchant family, had long held the chief sway in Kirkcaldy; Dysart was entirely directed by St. Clair; while Burntisland and Kinghorn were decayed and corrupt. Oswald was returned unopposed until 1768 when he made way for his son.
Inveraray and Campbeltown, the two ‘Highland burghs’, were controlled by the Duke of Argyll; Rothesay by the Earl of Bute; and Irvine by the Earl of Eglintoun. Ayr, which prided itself on its incorruptibility, always maintained a certain independence but was influenced by the Earl of Loudoun.
For most of the period this constituency was under the patronage of the Douglases, dukes of Queensberry. The interest of the Johnstone family, powerful in the earlier part of the century, was dormant after 1748, when the Marquess of Annandale, the head of the family, was declared insane and incapable of managing his affairs; it was revived towards the end of our period by a junior branch of the family, the Johnstones of Westerhall.
Aberdeen and Montrose were busy trading ports governed by wealthy merchant lairds; Arbroath and Inverbervie specialized in smuggling; and Brechin, the only inland town, manufactured linen. The leading interest was that of the Maules of Panmure, whose candidate, David Scott, was returned unopposed in 1754. In May 1759 Panmure, anxious for army promotion, reminded Newcastle:
These five small coastal burghs, much decayed since the Union, were in effect at the disposal of the highest bidder among the local magnates. The Anstruthers of Anstruther controlled the adjoining burghs of Anstruther Easter and Wester; and had great influence in Crail, where their chief rivals were the Scotts of Scotstarvit, the Moncriefs of Sauchope, and the Erskines of Cambo. In Kilrenny, the Anstruthers and Scotts contended for control; and in Pittenweem, the Erskines of Kellie could not without assistance challenge the Anstruthers.
The property of the earls of Sutherland in this county was so extensive that the right of voting extended not only to the vassals of the Crown, as it did in all other Scottish counties, but to the vassals of the Earl as well.Alex. Wight, Inquiry into the Rise and Progress of Parlt. (1784), pp. 209-11. The main opposition to their interest came from the family of Mackay, Lords Reay. In 1754 George Mackay, the sitting Member, was returned, Lord Sutherland having agreed to Pelham’s request not to offer any opposition.
About 1754 the Stewarts, earls of Galloway, and the Dalrymples, earls of Stair, had the leading interests in Wigtownshire. At the general election Galloway’s brother, James Stewart of Auchleand, received the support of the Dalrymples in the county, in return for Galloway’s interest in Wigtown Burghs being given to John Hamilton (formerly Dalrymple) of Bargany.Letter to Ld. Loudoun from John Dalrymple, Allan Whitefoord, Andrew Hunter, and Wm. Duff, Loudoun mss.
The principal aristocratic interest in Selkirkshire was that of the Duke of Buccleuch, which during the minority of the 3rd Duke was managed, until 1761, by Archibald, Duke of Argyll, and then by Charles Townshend, Buccleuch’s step-father. The other leading interests belonged to: Walter Scott of Harden; the Murrays of Philiphaugh; and the Pringles of Haining. The Elliots of Minto had their principal estates in Roxburghshire but possessed considerable influence in Selkirkshire.
James Campbell of Ardkinglass owed his seat for Stirlingshire mainly to the influence of the Duke of Argyll. At the general election of 1754 two newcomers to Stirlingshire politics, Lawrence Dundas and Robert Haldane, joined forces to oppose Campbell: the numbers on the poll were even, and Campbell was elected by the casting vote of the praeses.Argyll to Pelham, 5 Nov. 1753, Newcastle (Clumber) mss; CJ, 28 Nov. 1754. From now on the Campbell interest began to decline.
